And the Rain left off, Reprised
by takaondo
Summary: Rukia was surprised to find that Ichigo wasn't home that morning when she had arrived for his birthday. Since no one knew where he was, she went to go look for him, but out of all the places that she had went to look, she was surprised to find him at the very place that she had least expected him to be.


**Disclaimer:** BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite and Shiueisha Publishings.

**Author's Notes:** Just a quick one-shot for the Ichigo's birthday giveaway on Deathberry. This was slightly rushed so I could get it in on time, but I think there should be only a few errors here and there.

The prompt used in universe: Rukia came especially from SS to celebrate Ichigo's birthday, but he disappeared?

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July fifteenth, Karakura town.

The mid-summer sun was warm and welcoming even though dark clouds threatened to obstruct it from view. Kuchiki Rukia looked up at them, wrinkling her nose slightly at the unattractive prospect.

She looked away and her gaze shifted past several rows of old, grainy gravestones before settling on the familiar stone steps of the Karakura Cemetery. For a few moments, she stared at them quietly in thought, letting the wind brush past her short dark hair and light blue sundress. There was a hint of apprehension on her face despite her calm demeanor, a feeling that seemed confirmed when her fingers clenched lightly at the wrapped package she held in her hands.

'When I had arrived at Karakura this morning, I was surprised to find that Ichigo wasn't home. I couldn't even feel his presence anywhere nearby.' She thought to herself. 'At first, I thought something might have happened to him, but a part of me knew that wasn't the case.'

She took her first step forward and slowly started to make her way up the stairs.

'Everyone I asked didn't know where he was and had no idea where he could be, so I ended up looking at all the places he normally went to. Yet out of all the areas that I had checked, it never once occurred to me…'

Rukia came to a stop just as she reached the top of the stairs. Her expression hardened at the sight of Kurosaki Ichigo standing before his mother's grave.

'That he would be here out of all places.'

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_**And the Rain left off, Reprised**_

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It was quiet in the cemetery. The silence was occasionally broken by birds that chirped in the nearby trees and by the leaves that rustled with the breeze.

Ichigo looked lost in thought as he stood there before his mother's grave. He was dressed in a nice white polo and dark dress pants. It was a change from his normal casual attire, but it was a change that seemed to only make Rukia feel even more troubled.

Even though she had been there for quite a long time, Ichigo showed no signs that he was aware of her presence. Yet Rukia made no attempts to rectify this, and seemed reluctant to approach him in the first place. The reason for this wasn't clear; perhaps she felt that he wanted to be alone or maybe she didn't want to intrude on something personal, but regardless of the reason, it was enough to make her turn away to leave him alone.

But before she could leave, Ichigo finally noticed her from the corner of his eyes.

"Rukia?" He called out to her.

Rukia stopped and turned back to him. Her eyes lit up when she saw a rather nonchalant expression on his face. It was a refreshing sight for her and the feelings of uneasiness she felt to lighten somewhat. Ichigo only blinked a few times in response, oblivious to her earlier restlessness.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Looking for you." Rukia replied with a small frown. She walked up to his side. "You weren't at home when I arrived this morning."

"Sorry. I've been here since morning." Ichigo explained as he scratched the back of his head. He turned back to his mother's grave. "I wanted to be here with her today."

His eyes softened as he stared at his mother's engraved name.

"You know, it been about nine years have passed since she's been gone." Ichigo said. "Today is my eighteenth birthday and also the day I become an adult…"He continued. "So I wanted her to see the kind of man I've become."

Rukia smiled with relief. His words were calm and sincere, and they held none of the feelings that she thought he was trying to hide. She had been worried for no reason.

"Is that so?" She said. "That's surprisingly thoughtful of you."

"Shut up." Ichigo replied irritably, but he couldn't hide the smirk that pulled at his lips.

Noticing that Rukia didn't follow up with his comment, Ichigo turned to her, but his eyes were instead drawn to the package in her hands.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked, pointing at it.

She looked down at it, and her eyes lit up for a moment. It seemed that she had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she had forgotten all about it.

"Ah – this is for you." Rukia said. She grinned brightly as she held it out towards him. "Happy birthday, Ichigo."

"Oh. Thank you." Ichigo said, caught off-guard by her gift. He opened it and was surprised to find what was inside. "A raincoat?" He asked, holding the large yellow coat before himself.

"I noticed that you didn't have one so I thought I'd get you one." Rukia said with a hint of smugness in her voice. "It was a good idea, wasn't it?"

Ichigo's face deadpanned.

"That kind practical thinking… that's just like you." He said blankly.

Rukia frowned at his statement.

"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked with a slight raise of her brow.

"Nothing." Ichigo replied off-handedly.

Rukia closed her eyes, huffing irritably as she crossed her hands over her chest. "I noticed back then that you would often get caught in the rain without an umbrella or a rain coat. You would end up getting soaked from head to toe." She said as the memories of those times flickered in her thoughts. "But that was because you never ran away from it. You always just walked through it with that same pained expression on your face…"

Her eyes slowly opened, revealing violet irises that were shimmering with regret.

"As though you thought that you deserved to be punished." She finished quietly.

Ichigo stared at her for a few moments.

"I…" He managed to say.

A single drop of water fell on his head and he looked up with surprise. The single drop was soon followed by countless others and the pitter patter of falling rain soon echoed all around them.

"It's raining…" Rukia said as she looked up.

Ichigo glanced at the raincoat in his hands and an idea seemed to pop into his head. To Rukia's surprise, he gently tossed it over her, causing her to grunt with disapproval.

"Hey -"

"Hold still, idiot." Ichigo said as he tried to fix it.

He draped it over her shoulders and pulled the hood over her head. The raincoat was a few sizes too big for her – Ichigo couldn't hold back his amusement when he noticed that the hood completely covered her eyes – so it was more than enough to keep her from getting wet.

When he was done, Rukia pulled back the hood so she could see again. She raised her eyes questioningly at him. "Ichigo?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed that she was giving him such a look, he turned away from her. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I don't want to use it." He said with a scowl. "It's just that I don't need it, not right now."

"But -" She tried to argue.

"I'm fine." Ichigo assured her. He raised his gaze towards the falling rain. "I'm completely fine now."

Rukia was surprised by his comment. When she had arrived earlier, she had assumed he had come here because he was troubled by something. In turn, the thought of that caused her to be uneasy, and she felt like she had to distance herself to give him space. Though she had been relieved to find out that wasn't the case, it was only after seeing him the way he was now that she realized just how unfounded her worries were.

She smiled softly at the realization; she had been so focused on the Ichigo that she knew in the past, that she had lost sight of the Ichigo that had been changing right in front of her.

"I see." Rukia replied quietly before raising her gaze towards the rain just like he did.

For the longest time, they stood there together just like that, quietly watching the rain fall down from the heavens above. Even though the rain didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon, neither one of them seemed to mind.

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_Fin_

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End file.
